Todd Duffee wins first fight since 2009, knocks out Neil Grove in SFL 2 main event

Todd Duffee today picked up his first victory since August 2009. And it took him just 34 seconds to get it.

The former UFC heavyweight made quick work of recent Bellator fighter Neil Grove in the headliner of today’s Super Fight League 2 event.

The show took place in Chandigarh, India, and streamed live on YouTube.

Duffee (6-2), whom the UFC surprisingly released after a May 2010 loss to Mike Russow, fought for the first time since his December 2010 DREAM title loss to Alistair Overeem. In the SFL 2 featured attraction, he lunged forward with punches and connected with a big right hook that sent Grove (11-6-1) to the canvas. A few follow-up punches prompted the stoppage just 34 seconds into the fight.

After the bout, Duffee, who was also awarded the event’s “Knockout of the Night” plaque, thanked his new training partners at American Kickboxing Academy.

“It’s the best gym,” he said. “I’ve been in every gym in the country basically, and that’s a team.

“It was a really, really tough camp. I had a lot of stuff going on. I wouldn’t have gotten through it without them.”

In other notable bouts, Bellator veteran middleweight Alexander Shlemenko (45-7) made quick work of Japanese open-weight regular Ikuhisa “Minowaman” Minowa (53-34). Shlemenko connected with a knee and punches to the body, which sent Minowa to the mat in obvious pain. The TKO stoppage came at the 2:20 mark of the opening round.

In the night’s opener, Ryan Healy (20-10-1) easily handled fellow lightweight Paul Kelly (12-5), who was fighting for the first time since his UFC release. With a ground-oriented attack, Healy picked up the win via 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 scores.

As the UFC 189 tour made its last stop in Dublin, featherweight champ Jose Aldo was met with a torrent of abuse from the Irish fans. It might have been unpleasant, but it might also have been just what he needed.